North Star Rotary Trust - Distance Education Program

Project Brief: RDEP's mission is to make use of latest technology in education to reach 2,000 schools benefitting 1,000,000 students by end of RI year 2013-14. Under RDEP, each designated school is provided with RDEP system, an Audio-Visual E-learning classroom set Project Type: Non-Formal Educational Centers (description) Primary Focus: children of dalits/tribals (description)

Asha-Toledo along with Rotary club of Toledo will be supporting Rotary Distance Education Program (RDEP). Under RDEP, each designated school is provided with RDEP system, an Audio-Visual E-learning classroom set up consisting Computer preloaded with curriculum based audio-visual e-learning software, LCD projector and Power back up along with required infrastructure and installations. The set up is supported on-site for 3 years including software upgrades. The school teachers are trained to operate the software.

RDEP lay measure thrust on sustainability, measurability and upgrades. Program ensures teachers training at regular intervals. It also keeps adding value added features to expose students to plethora of knowledge. The schools have one point contact for any feedback, complaints, suggestions, etc. The sponsor clubs identify mentors for each RDEP installations who makes sure the set up is maintained and operated as per the guidelines. All the incoming leaders have strongly backed the program and vowed to continue to support RDEP.

1. Identify needy rural and slum schools that would benefit from RDEP (Rotary Distance Education Program) system. 2. Educate Rotary clubs, volunteers and communities to undertake programs to install, monitor and review RDEP at selected schools 3. Install RDEP system to village and slum schools at affordable price structure. 4. Offer teachers training to ensure proper use of RDEP and ensure quality education delivered at rural and slum schools. 5. Develop measurement tools to evaluate progress and the success of Distance Education system that is been offered by our team. 6. Make learning process more interesting and engaging for students who have domestic priorities and compulsions 7. Improve passing rates at rural and slum schools through successful implementation of Distance Education system. 8. Reduce absenteeism and dropouts in rural schools 9. Further evolve and fine tune RDEP to be more effective in supporting rural and slum youth for education and employability. 10. Demonstrate mega impact of Rotary in the remote areas of Maharashtra. 11. Program directly supports the cause of education and literacy at rural and slum youth. It allows bringing quality education (1st to 10th grade) tool to villages and slums rather than expecting youth to move to urban areas. 12. The project attempts to replicate already highly successful RDEP I program in District 3131 that was run through global grant 25085. 13. If offers, for the first time a quality education at village door step at affordable price ï¿½ in remote hilly area of Jawhar& Mokhada blocks of Thane District 14. The First Pilot was implemented by RC Thane North at Dengachi Met in Jawhar Block ï¿½which was a truly representative Hamlet with environs identical to proposed 20 schools of Asha Toledo ï¿½ Rotary Thane North initiative , which includes - Quality of Teachers, Level of Students comprehension, Language spoken, Infrastructure for hardware support, erratic power supply etc. 15. In this rural area quality education is not available, unemployment is high and there is steady migration of youth towards urban centers which have become overcrowded. As per our estimate over 100,000 trial youth are expected to benefit- over subsequent phases 16. Asha Toledo ï¿½Rotary Project would benefit aprox. 300 x 20 =6000 students. 17. Program is expected to bring youth back from farming work to school as per their timing and also bring back youth from streets to back into school.

Rotary Club of Thane North (RCTN) are involved in mega projects throughout Mumbai.Some of the important projects for the year are Jawhar Rain Water Harvesting, Water Storage and Pumps, Distance Education, Polio Corrective Surgery, Music Competition, ROCHESS, Wall Painting, Tree Plantation, Blood Donation, Eye Check up Camps, Hospital Upliftment, Road Adoption etc.